Fundraising

A few months ago I began praying about how I would get to India financially. I knew God wanted me to go, but I didn’t know where a few thousand dollars was going to come from. 

God led me to Matthew 19:16-20 - the story of the rich man and the Kingdom of God. In this story, a wealthy man comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to gain eternal life. Jesus responds by telling him to keep the commandments. When the man says “All of these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 

Jesus answers “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then come, follow me.”

I am wealthy. No, I don’t have an extra $5000 in my bank account to fund my trip to India. But I am wealthy. I have never gone a day without access to food. I have never lived without a roof over my head. I have always had access to clean water. I am educated. I have my own bedroom, my own bed, my own desk, my own everything. I have a car. If there is something I need, I drive to the store and pick it up. I am wealthy.

The more I prayed about going back to India, the more God began to lay this story on my heart. He made it clear to me that I needed to get rid of some of my own material possessions in order to fund my trip to India. So I am selling my car. I’ll make more than enough to support myself, so I don’t have to fundraise for any of my personal expenses.(If you know of anyone who might be interested in a 2010 light blue Bug send them my way!)

Everything I fundraise will go directly to my girls and some of the other kids at SCH. I have a long list of items to buy here in the States as well as things I need to buy in India. 

Please pray about giving any amount for my girls. $5, $20, $50, anything. SCH is funded completely from donations which cover surgeries, healthcare, food, rent, water, school, and several other basic needs. Any toys or extra clothes kids at SCH have are usually brought over or purchased by volunteers like me. I want my girls and all the other kids at SCH to have the childhood they deserve. I want them to have toys, games, nice clothes, and everything else a child deserves.

I’m going to be purchasing several items before I leave, but I also have a limit to how much I can take with me. I can only take two suitcases 50 pounds each. I might end up paying for a third bag if I need to, but that still puts a pretty large limit on the amount I can physically take.

Marla (my girls’ current foster mom) has helped me come up with a list of things my girls and some other kids at SCH need.

I will be purchasing a guide cane for Stephanie and two other SCH kids who are blind - Promise and Jasmine. (You can read about them on their two foster moms’ (Nikki and Tori) blogs). The canes average at about $40 a piece. This is incredibly exciting because these three girls will be able to explore the world on their own! 

I will be purchasing universal cuffs for Aloe and Jackie. Both of these girls have some hand differences and universal cuffs will help them to become more independent. 

I also want to get special watches for Stephanie and three other girls I met last summer, Phoebe, Victoria, and Jeanette. These four girls are blind and I want to get them watches that speak the time for them to hear.

I’ll be getting a large blow up kiddie pool for sensory water play, as well as several toys, puzzles, crafts, legos, and games. 

I want to get a few new outfits for each of my girls as well. I am planning on buying a few outfits here, but I want to buy most of my kids’ clothes in India. All of my girls need rain jackets as well! (The monsoon season will be hitting Ongole after I arrive).

If you would like to purchase some actual items instead of giving money - that’s great! Just email me at carrienicolehopper@gmail.com or message me on Facebook. I’ll let you know specifically what I’m collecting! As far as clothes go, I want to buy my girls new clothes instead of taking old worn out donations. But if you have something that has only been worn a couple times and is in really good condition I will definitely take it!

If you want to donate you can write me a check or send me cash. I don’t really have a goal to how much I need to collect. The more money I collect, the more things I can buy for my kids and others at SCH once I am in India. SCH has several other needs as well. They constantly have kids in the hospital and kids are in and out of surgery all the time. SCH is also raising money to get several of their children their own supportive wheelchairs. Any extra money I raise will go to countless important needs that SCH has.

Thank you so much for considering donating! But more importantly, thank you for praying for me and my girls.

Naomi and Chelsea had birthdays this week! A very happy birthday to Naomi who turned 9 on Tuesday and to Chelsea who turned 3 today (Wednesday)!